"Eto sam Potemkin!" K 280-letiiu Svetleishego kniazia G. A. Potemkina-Tavricheskogo. Katalog vystavki, tom 2 ("Tis Potemkin himself!" On the 280th anniversary of the birth of Prince Gregory Potemkin of Taurida. Exhibition Catalogue, volume 2)
St. Petersburg: Herm, 2020. Sewn pb. Potemkin as a favorite of Catherine the Great’s and as a military commander had at his command great resources, with which he expressed two sides of his character — first, his admiration for Catherine moved him to commission the most intricate and beautiful objects Europe could devise from a Sévres service with Catherine's initials to the ornate ingenious peacock clock believed to have been commissioned from a London clock maker by Potemkin for Catherine and now a centerpiece of the Hermitage. Second, his ardor for knowledge and art made him an open-handed and omnivorous collector of paintings, prints, musical instruments, clocks, and books — Russian museums and libraries are richer thanks to Potemkin. Dutch, Italian, French, and English paintings of the sixteenth, seventeen and eighteenth centuries commissioned or purchased by Potemkin are now at the Hermitage including paintings by such artists as Tintoretto, David Teniers the Younger, Rembrandt, and Joshua Reynolds. Prints and drawings of Potemkin's estates, where he spent little time owing to his whirlwind military and administrative duties, show works of architecture now lost or severely altered (Ostanki, destroyed during World War II, Tauride Palace marred by later alterations). The rare leisure that Potemkin shared with Catherine leaves evidence in objects of material culture such as a chess board carved from ivory in Kholmogor and playing cards. Some works are published in the catalogue for the first time. 309 p., 28 cm, approx. 500 color illus., Rus. with title page and summary in ENGLISH. Item #3828
ISBN: 9785935728939
Chapter titles: Potemkin's image in works of fine and applied arts; An imposing hearth: Potemkin’s residences in and around St. Petersburg; Potemkin’s collection of musical instruments; Potemkin’s library at Kazan University; Potemkin’s print collection. ISBN (2-vol. set): 9785935728915.
Price: $86.00